Where does the time go? For once, we know for sure — sort of.
If tomorrow, July 9, feels even shorter than your average day filled with too much to do, there’s a scientific phenomenon that’s to blame, scientists say.
This summer, Earth is suddenly spinning faster as a result of the moon’s position, the experts explain.
The celestial speed-up will knock anywhere from 1.3 to 1.6 milliseconds off the typical 24 hours on Wednesday, resulting in the shortest day in recorded history.
Our big blue ball’s rotation process is a sensitive business, turns out.
Phenomena ranging from seasonal changes to natural disasters can have a surprising impact on speed.
The latest disturbance in the force will be the sixth of its kind since 2020.
And there’s more to come, the planet pros say.
July 22 and August 5 are expected to be similarly short, according to the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS).
The organization is responsible for eventually handling the negative leap second that will result from the string of abbreviated days.
This will result in the first adjustment to the clock of its kind.
That historic change is expected to be made in 2029.
“This is an unprecedented situation and a big deal,” Duncan Agnew, a geophysicist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, previously stated.
“It’s not a huge change in the Earth’s rotation that’s going to lead to some catastrophe or anything, but it is something notable,” he added.
“It’s yet another indication that we’re in a very unusual time.”